


Of Old Friends and Old Wounds

by lena-in-a-red-dress (CSIGurlie07)



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:20:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23951461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CSIGurlie07/pseuds/lena-in-a-red-dress
Summary: James wants to introduce Lena to his oldest friend: Lena has other ideas.
Relationships: Lena Luthor/James "Jimmy" Olsen
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Of Old Friends and Old Wounds

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” Lena says as soon as she unlocks James’ door. “The investor meeting went late but I think we finally–”

The words die in her throat when her eyes lock on the unexpected figure in James’ living room.

“Mr. Kent,” she greets coolly. “Excuse me.”

“Hey, Lena, guess who dropped in for a visit?” James emerges from the kitchen with a beer in each hand. He passes one off to Clark before crossing to welcome Lena with a kiss. She receives it on her cheek, uncomfortable with their sudden audience. 

“I’m here on business with the Planet, thought I’d say hello,” Mr. Kent informs her with a gentle smile. “I hope you don’t mind.”

The smile Lena offers is brief. “Why would I mind?”

Silence hangs awkwardly between them, as Clark struggles to find a response that won’t incriminate either of them.

“I went ahead and ordered some pizza and wings,” James changes the subject. “That okay?”

“Sounds great…” Despite her agreement, James knows the bow out is coming. “But you know, I don’t want to keep you from catching up. I think I’ll give Kara a call.”

James hesitates. “You sure? You don’t have to…”

“No, please, it’s fine.” Lena lifts to her toes to kiss his cheek, and this time, her smile softens into something more natural. “You two have fun.”

James watches helplessly as Lena gathers her things and bows out with one last nod to Clark. “Lovely seeing you again, Mr. Clark.”

“And you, Miss Luthor.”

The door closes behind her with a click. James stares after her, tempted to follow her out. But Clark’s presence behind him tethers him in place.

“Sorry, man,” he says finally, turning back to the couch. “I was hoping this would be a chance for you guys to get to know each other better.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t really blame her,” Clark admits with a sigh as they settle back on the couch. “We don’t exactly have an easy history.”

“What, you mean…?”

“It’s more than that, actually.” Clark picks at the label of his beer. “I kind of, maybe, might have accidentally ended her relationship with Jack Spheer.”

James blinks at him. “Wait, what?”

“It was around the same time Lex’s trial was happening. We weren’t making any headway with Luthor’s office, so I reached out to Spheer.”

“Dude, you didn’t–”

“Look, by that point Lex’s story was done. I was looking for an human interest angle, to focus on what was next. I’d gotten word that LuthorCorp was starting over and I needed more details in order to pitch the article to Barry. I figured Spheer would know.”

Distaste sours James’ tongue. He sets his beer aside, untasted.

“I asked when I ran into him at a bar,” his friend continued. “I got the brushoff like you might expect, but I dunno… Something about his face that night told me he had no idea.”

“Right.”

“Next thing anyone knows, Lena’s taking the company to National City, and Spheer’s staying behind, and all the rags are talking about their hushed split.”

James doesn’t know what to say. So he doesn’t, instead rubbing his hand over his jaw. His friend meets his gaze. At least Clark has the decency to look ashamed.

“I’m not proud of my part in it, James,” Clark says. “It was never my intention for that to happen, you have to know that.”

“Sure,” James allows, “but it still happened.”

He feels like an idiot. He knows journalism is a rough gig, especially on the subjects they feature, but he’d always believed his friend was above the worst of it.

It sucks to be proven wrong.

“You should have told me, man.” It’s been months since he casually mentioned his budding relationship with Lena. Clark had months to share the truth of it, and minutes more when he heard Lena was on her way to James’ apartment.

Discomfort coils in James’ belly, and in the next moment, he makes his decision. “I gotta go.”  
  
“James…”  
  
“It is what it is, Clark,” James says, waving him off. “But– you came here to my place with this, and the thing is, it’s not just my place anymore.”  
  
It takes a moment to click into place. “Oh. I didn’t realize it was that serious. Congratula–”  
  
“No, I don’t mean it like that, it’s just…” James struggles to find the words. “When you get to the kind of level Lena and I are on, as executives of companies as big as ours… there’s not a lot of places where we can just switch off and be ourselves.” He shrugs. “I didn’t realize how much I want this place to be one of them for Lena until she walked out that door.”  
  
Clark nods, a goofy smile teasing his lips. “No, I get it. I do. Let me find a hotel, and you two can–”  
  
“I appreciate it, but let me talk to Lena first.” He claps Clark on the shoulder. “You stay here and wait for the pizza.”  
  
“Yeah, sure. Okay. I’ll be here.”

* * *

James doesn’t bother trying to track down Kara. He knows exactly where Lena is. 

  
L-Corp is quiet this time of night, and his ride up to the executive suite is almost meditative. Jess’ desk is empty, and so is Lena’s. He finds her instead on the couch, changed into soft yoga pants and a loose top.  
  
“Hey.”  
  
Lena looks up from her book, and offers a soft smile. “Hey.”  
  
It’s invitation enough for James to sit next to her on the couch. He reaches instinctively for her knee. Her hand covers his, soothing his concern that she might be angry with him.  
  
“Sorry I was so abrupt,” she tells him quietly. Her features twist into a grimace.  
  
“No, that was totally on me.” James traces his thumb in quiet circles against her thigh. “I should have warned you as soon as Clark showed up.”  
  
“It’s your apartment,” she reminds him. “You don’t have to run your guests by me.”  
  
James holds her gaze. “I think we can both agree that Clark is more than just a guest.”  
  
Green eyes fall away, confirming the truth of his words.  
  
“Between the trial, and that thing with Jack Spheer, I can only imagine that Clark would be a loaded subject. I didn’t even think–”  
  
“What?” Lena squints in confusion. “What does Jack have to do with it?”  
  
James hesitates, sensing he’d stepping into something he wasn’t meant to. But in for a penny…

“Clark explained that he might have had a hand in how you and Jack broke up… when you made the decision to move the company here.”  
  
“Oh, please,” she scoffs, rolling her eyes. “Jack and I were done long before Kent cornered him in that bar on 39th.”  
  
“And the move wasn’t a surprise?”  
  
“God, no.” Lena pulls away, shaking her head. “And they say Luthors have hubris.”  
  
Silence fills the space around them. James feels the urge to jump to Clark’s defense, but it passes just as fleetingly. In this case, Clark has earned it. He stares at his hands, and chooses his next words carefully.

“I know, with everything that happened with your brother, Clark was kind of at the front of it all–”

Pale fingers edge into his vision, curling around his left hand.

“I’m not asking you to cut ties with him, James. I would never ask that.” James lifts his gaze to a soft smile. “He’s your Kara. I get it.”

James nods, sighing. “You guys are two of my favorite people. I guess I was just hoping you two would be able to be friends.”

“I know. But James… That last year in Metropolis was the worst time of my life.” Her voice deepens, and her features shadow with a dark truth. “To be honest, there were moments I wasn’t sure I’d survive it. Wasn’t sure I wanted to.”

Somehow, James knows she doesn’t mean death threats or assassination attempts.

“And I know Clark Kent is seen as this scion of ethical journalism, but the truth is that he was right there with the rest of them. It was his name on the call sheet hounding us for interviews, his face on the courthouse steps shoving microphones at me when I was just barely keeping it together.”

James swallows, nearly choking on his own guilt. He’d accepted Lena’s innocence fully, but never bothered to consider what that innocence looked like during the trial. Part of him assumed that she’d been on the same side of the courtroom as everyone else, eager to see Lex put away.

But it’s not that simple.

How could it be? James knows first hand how deeply Lena feels for people she cares about.

“I remember watching the trials,” he says softly. “You’d never know it to look at you.”

“Yes, well. The first thing a Luthor learns is a good poker face,” Lena jokes. “Didn’t do me many favors at the time though, considering I was accused of sabotaging the Venture within weeks of arriving.”

James doesn’t have anything to say to that. He’d definitely been on the wrong end of assuming things at that point.

“Maybe one day I’ll be able to be in the same room as Clark Kent without feeling like crawling out of my skin. But we’ll never be friends. And I hope you won’t hold it against me that I don’t want to be friends with the man who made his name on tearing my world apart.”

There are moments when Lena seems superhuman in her own right: when the world can’t touch her but lies entirely within her reach.

This is not one of them.

She says it all with a smile, but the apprehension behind it is evident. She’s not certain he won’t take her reluctance to know Clark as some indication of latent villainy. She holds her breath, waiting for the blowback that feels sure to come.

“I don’t.” James tugs her closer, and she leans into him, releasing her held breath in a sigh. “I’m sorry I didn’t stop to consider all this sooner.”

Lena only shrugs.

“And I promise to give you more warning the next time an unexpected guest shows up.”

That, at least, earns him a breath of laughter. “Thanks.” Then she pushes him away with a playful shove. “Go catch up. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m happy to stay here,” James tells her. “If seeing Clark again brings up stuff…”

He can’t shake the deep disquiet of learning how deeply Lex’s conviction had affected her. How close she might have come to giving up in the face of what must have seemed like insurmountable heartache.

The idea of leaving her alone feels irresponsible, regardless of the fact that Lena’s survived the years since. But Lena only smiles.

“It brings up plenty,” she admits, “but nothing I’m not equipped to handle. Alone.”

“You don’t have to be alone.”

Lena’s smile warms. “I appreciate that. Really. But I’m fine. And feeling like I’m keeping you from your friend is only going to stress me out, so…”

James lifts his hands in surrender. “All right. Message received.” He presses a kiss to the back of her hand before rising to his feet. “But if you ever want to talk, about Lex, or anything… I know I’ve got baggage, but I can put that away. I want to be there for you, whatever you need.”

For a long moment, nothing else is said. Lena stares at him, uncertain and taken aback at his offer. Then, her gaze turns misty, as her smile softens. “Thank you.”

James gives her hand another squeeze. “See you tomorrow?”

“You bet.” She tilts her chin up for a parting kiss, which James gladly bequeaths, letting his lips linger slow and tender against hers. Words bubble up in his throat, but he swallows them back down to make way for something safer.

“G’night.”

_I love you._

—

Clark planned to leave for Metropolis in the morning, but delays his departure to say one more goodbye. He waits in the executive waiting room for nearly an hour before Lena returns from an off-site meeting. Though she can’t be glad to see him, her features lift in a smile that’s nothing but transactional.

“Mr. Kent, hello. I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I don’t have time for an interview today.”

Or any other day, Clark suspects.

“I’m not here on business,” he assures her. His confidence frays when she slows to meet him, removing the smoother possibility of him slipping into her office behind her. “If I could just have a few moments of your time?”

She hesitates for only a heartbeat before she tilts her head towards the office in silent invitation. He follows at her heels, and waits for her to shed her puse and jacket before turning to face him expectantly.

“I wanted to apologize.”

She blinks, less surprised than skeptical. “Okay.”

“I didn’t mean to make things uncomfortable for you last night. And while I doubt we’ll ever really move past what happened in Metropolis, I want you to know it wasn’t personal.”

Green eyes harden to ice, and pale features twist into a barely-contained sneer. “I’m glad you got a chance to get that off your chest. Now, if there’s nothing else–”

“And I wanted to give you this.”

Lena freezes, her gaze flashing to the 4x6 photograph Clark extends towards her. She takes it, and Clark watches a myriad of emotions flicker across her features at the sight of him and Lex five years younger with their arms slung around each other’s shoulders.

“I miss him too.”

Lena’s jaw clenches tightly. “I’ve always resented you.”

It’s not the response Clark expects. He blinks, surprised not at the resentment, but the admission of it.

“Once I went to boarding school, I only less than two months a year during the summer to spend as much time with Lex as I could. And those last few years, it was always Clark this, and Clark that. He adored you.”

Her gaze lifts in a damning glare.

“But it’s not personal. Right?”

Clark’s throat clicks for want of a response. “I didn’t mean to imply–”

“I lost everything that year, and not just my brother. My entire life ended trying to pick up the pieces after the trial. I gave up my cancer research, my friends, my relationship… But to everyone else involved, it’s nothing personal. They were just doing their jobs. Even the man who was once Lex’s best friend.”

She strides towards him with dark intent, and for a brief moment, Clark wonders if Lena Luthor is about to break her hand on his face. Instead, she shoves the photograph forcefully against his chest, planting it there as his hands numbly lift to take it back.

“Keep it. I’ve got plenty of my own.”


End file.
